1. Field of the Invention
The present description relates to heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and more specifically to a portable refrigerant charge meter and method for measuring refrigerant charge level in such systems without the need for complex connections to the fluid lines. The disclosure is applicable to both conventional air conditioning and heat pump systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of the main issues affecting HVAC systems in residential house and light commercial building is improper refrigerant charge. Fifty to eighty percent of residential air conditioning and heat pump systems operate in under or overcharged states. In most cases, the systems become undercharged as a result of a slow refrigerant leak. This directly results in the air conditioning or heat pump system operating outside of its designed efficiency and it can consume considerably more electrical energy as a result. Observations have shown that typical levels of undercharging in HVAC systems can produce efficiency losses of thirty percent. However, most system owners do not realize that their HVAC systems are not working properly until a large percentage of the refrigerant has leaked out and the cooling effectiveness becomes noticeable. It can even be difficult for certified HVAC technicians to troubleshoot how much refrigerant charge exists in an improperly charged system since simple, fast, and accurate diagnostic devices do not currently exist.
Traditional refrigerant leak detection technologies include corona discharge, heated diode, and ultra violet (UV) based systems. These technologies are only used for sensing and monitoring refrigerant leaks, but they are not able to quantify the amount of refrigerant charge remaining in the air conditioner and heat pump systems. There are other refrigerant charge diagnostic technologies that require intrusion into the HVAC system to measure the refrigerant high-side and low-side pressures. Once the pressures are known, the high or low refrigerant charge level can be estimated based on the technician's experience and/or equipment manual, but the ability to accurately measure the actual quantity of refrigerant charge is limited. Thus, a simple refrigerant charge diagnostic meter that can quickly and accurately determine the refrigerant charge level in an HVAC system is required.